Staff Data Engineer, Tech Foundations

Airbnb

. Lead architecture, implementation, and operation of high-impact data pipelines across AI usage and cost, Unit Economics, enterprise applications, and critical financial metrics .

Posted 10/16/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in leading complex data engineering initiatives, including architecture, implementation, and operation of data pipelines. Proficient in SQL, Python or Scala, and Apache Spark, with a strong focus on data modeling, performance engineering, and stakeholder alignment.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Data Engineering LeadershipSQL ExpertiseApache Spark ProficiencyData Modeling SkillsPerformance Engineering

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

SQLPythonScalaData ModelingData Pipeline DevelopmentPerformance EngineeringData Quality ControlsIncident RecoveryHistorical Data ManagementDistributed Processing

Soft Skills

Stakeholder AlignmentTechnical LeadershipMentorshipCommunication

Tools & Technologies

Apache SparkJiraWorkflow OrchestrationSQL Transformation FrameworksApache Iceberg

Industry Keywords

Data EngineeringAI UsageUnit EconomicsEnterprise ApplicationsFinancial MetricsCloud Cost Attribution

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

ApacheCloudPythonScalaSparkSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead architecture, implementation, and operation of high-impact data pipelines across AI usage and cost, Unit Economics, enterprise applications, and critical financial metrics
Define measurements for AI adoption, consumption, and spending and build consistent data models
Evolve Unit Economics datasets connecting revenue and diverse cost drivers
Build ingestion and transformation pipelines for Jira and other BizTech enterprise applications
Translate ambiguous requirements into source contracts, reusable fact and dimension models, and technical designs
Develop configurable pipelines and shared components for onboarding data sources, products, and business requirements
Establish automated testing, reconciliation, anomaly detection, and monitoring
Lead migrations and historical backfills through dependency analysis, validation, controlled cutovers, and recovery planning
Optimize distributed processing, storage, and query performance
Own production reliability through on-call participation, incident response, and runbook improvements
Shape the technical roadmap, lead design reviews, mentor engineers, and improve Airbnb’s Data Engineering Paved Path

Requirements

What you’ll need

9+ years of relevant industry experience with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience; or 6+ years of relevant experience with a PhD
Track record of leading complex data engineering initiatives from ambiguous requirements through architecture, delivery, and sustained production ownership
Deep expertise in SQL and strong programming skills in Python or Scala
Extensive experience with Apache Spark and large-scale analytical storage systems
Strong data modeling skills, including fact and dimension design, slowly changing dimensions, incremental processing, and historical data management
Experience integrating heterogeneous sources, including APIs, enterprise applications, event data, and transactional systems
Proven ability to build reliable pipelines and execute migrations and backfills
Experience establishing data quality controls, observability, lineage, governance, and incident recovery practices
Strong performance engineering skills involving distributed computation, storage, and query execution
Ability to align stakeholders across engineering and business functions and communicate architectural tradeoffs
Demonstrated technical leadership through mentorship and architectural guidance
Experience with AI usage or cost measurement, cloud cost attribution, Unit Economics, enterprise application data, or financial and payments datasets is a plus
Familiarity with workflow orchestration, SQL transformation frameworks, and Apache Iceberg is valuable
Must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity

Benefits

Comp & perks

Occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager
Reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities